DivcoWest, Brickman Make Manhattan Office Acquisitions

NEW YORK— DivcoWest, a private real estate firm with offices in San Francisco and Boston, and Brickman, a private equity owner operator of office buildings headquartered in New York, have acquired three office buildings located in New York City’s Midtown South submarket: 24-28 West 25th Street and 40 West 25th Street. The buildings were acquired for $115 million, according to Colliers International, which represented Yeshiva University in the sale.

The properties, located in one of the top performing US technology office markets, were acquired for DivcoWest Fund III, an $870 million fund raised in 2011 and Brickman Fund V, a $200 million fund raised in 2011. The buildings were purchased from Einstein College at Yeshiva University. Financial terms for the transaction were not disclosed.

Built in 1911 and 1913, the Midtown South properties are comprised of three 12-story structures offer 11,000-sq.-ft. floor plates, providing the partnership with a 270,000-sq.-ft. foothold of “creative office space” in the emerging midtown technology cluster. The properties are currently 73 percent leased.

“We consider these buildings to be a strategic expansion of the creative space options we need to properly accommodate the national growth now happening within many of our existing tenants around the country,” DivcoWest CEO Stuart Shiff said in a statement. “That would definitely include West Coast based firms that are looking for the 'right' urban locations for immediate expansion into the New York Metro market.”

“These properties are particularly suited to Brickman’s focus on creating a unique, dynamic, and modern experience for smaller tenants. We are looking forward to our partnership with DivcoWest and in particular their strong ties to media and technology companies,” Bruce Brickman, principal of Brickman, said in a statement.

“Yeshiva University owned a portfolio of well-located, in-demand office properties,” James Murphy, an executive Managing director with Colliers International, said in a statement. “They felt that current market conditions provided an ideal time to sell, taking advantage of Midtown South’s record rents and lack of new product.”